New York City Mayor Eric Adams is seemingly cozying up to Trump's rhetoric on immigration, incorrectly claiming that undocumented immigrants are not entitled to the right of due process under the U.S. Constitution. The assertion illustrates how Adams and the President-elect may be forming an unlikely alliance, at least on immigration enforcement issues.
Asked during a news briefing about how his own legal charges affect his view on migrants, the Democratic mayor— who is facing felony corruption and bribery charges in federal court— said the rights he has are not the same as someone who "snuck" into the country.
"The Constitution is for Americans," Adams told reporters at his weekly City Hall press conference. "I'm not a person that snuck into this country. My ancestors have been here for a long time."
"What rights I have, the person that decides to shoot the police officer, they should not have those same rights. OK? That's my position."
Adams also argued that undocumented people who had committed crimes should be deported, suggesting that immigration authorities should not wait for them to stand trial. He was then asked to explain his position on due process, according to a recount by Gothamist.
The mayor's stance was quickly contested by experts and immigration advocates. Regardless of immigration status, many of the rights in the Constitution, including due process and legal counsel, apply to everyone in the U.S. In deportation proceedings, those rights are more limited; there is no presumption of innocence, for instance, explains The Spokesman Review.
"Mayor Adams is wrong," Murad Awawdeh. President of the New York Immigration Coalition, said of Adams' statement. "He is ripping a page from Trump's playbook, stoking fear and spreading disinformation. We should be able to expect that the mayor of New York City has a basic understanding of the constitutional rights of the people he serves."
Adams also repeated his desire to scale back the city's sanctuary rules, which restrict city officials from cooperating with federal immigration agents. New York City mayors going back to Ed Koch, who was in office from 1978 to 1989, have pointed to sanctuary policies to encourage immigrants to use city services, such as hospitals, schools and police without fear of deportation, according to Gothamist.
The city passed a law in 2014 that ensured undocumented individuals accused of crimes would be given due process prior to deportation proceedings. City officials may turn over only those undocumented individuals who have been convicted of one of a list of 170 serious crimes within the last five years— and only when a judge has signed a warrant authorizing federal authorities to detain them, Gothamist reports.
But Adams believes those laws have gone "too far," adding that "we should be able to address and coordinate with any entity when you're dealing with those who commit crimes in our city."
Adams' recent claims come as he seemingly cozies up with President-elect Donald Trump— who has repeatedly made the same claims about migrants— amid their legal troubles.
Trump has spoken disparagingly about Adams' corruption charges, comparing them to his own federal criminal charges and claiming them to his own federal criminal charges and claiming them to be based on politics rather than actual legal ground. Adams has also dined, formed alliances with and even hired local entertainers and businesspeople who are close to Trump.
The New York Democrat has also recently suggested that his case is payback for his outspoken resistance to President Biden's border policies. On Tuesday, he pointed to the President pardoning his son, Hunter Biden, as evidence of a politicized justice department.
"President Biden and President-elect Donald Trump now agree on one thing," he read. "The Biden Justice Department has been politicized."
"Does that sound familiar?" a smiling Adams told reporters in City Hall. "I rest my case."
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